Man in the Mirror
by sadyshea
Summary: When Zayn Malik witnesses a crime, he must relocate to a small townin Bellingham, Washington and become Ian Daniels. There, he meets a group of amazing guys but one in particular catches his eye. / zarry onedirection harryxzayn
1. Chapter 1

"Ian. I need you over here, these boxes are ridiculously heavy." Niall, Zayn's coworker begged of him.

It took a moment got Zayn to realize that Niall was addressing him. Even after a month of living in Bellingham, Washington, he still wasn't quite used to the name change.

Zayn sauntered over to where Niall was struggling with a box of art supplies.

"Who knew that paint brushes could weigh this much?" Niall mused, grinning sheepishly up at Zayn.

Zayn still had to concentrate before he talked but he was quite good at speaking with an American accent.

"Next time ask before you even try. I don't want you hurting yourself like you did with that paint can last week." Zayn teased and was quite pleased with the sound that came out of his mouth.

He took the box from Niall and the blond just blushed, totally embarrassed.

"That was an honest mistake. I'm usually not that clumsy, I swear!" Niall defended, frowning childishly and crossing his arms to add to the ridiculous effect.

Zayn rolled his eyes and walked away from his stubborn coworker. He brought the box over to the paintbrush section and began to unpack it.

"It's fine, really, I can do that part, Zayn. I hate working the till anyway." Niall assured him, putting his hands into the box after following Zayn halfway across the floor.

"I do too. Talking to people really isn't my thing." Zayn answered.

Agent Leeman, the agent working his case had advised him to avoid social interaction as much as humanly possible. Zayn didn't actually mind because it meant he wouldn't have to talk in his American accent for any length of time.

The problem was that even though there weren't any more than three customers bustling around the store at any given time, Niall was a talker. The blond would get bored with his work duties and constantly start conversation with Zayn.

Zayn liked Niall, that wasn't the problem. He just needed to blend in and make as little connections as possible. He had been forced to delete his Facebook, and all other social networking sites. He essentially didn't exist to the world anymore, at least, not as Zayn Malik. But that's the price he would pay to protect himself and his friends back in the U.K.

Bellingham, Washington was as boring as it got in terms of anywhere Zayn had ever lived. It was generally rainy, quite cold and they only had one shopping mall: Bellis Fair.

Agent Leeman had arranged the job for him at the mall, wanting him to be able to occupy his time somehow. He wasn't allowed to go to university because it could generate too much attention for Zayn.

So, there he was as Ian Daniels working in an art supplies store while back in the United Kingdom he was set to go to university for art studies. _How things had changed…_

"But, I guess I can do it." Zayn caved, ruffling Niall's hair amicably.

Niall gave him an appreciative toothy smile and said, "Ian! You're kind of the best."

"I know." Zayn joked before walking up behind the till.

About ten minutes went by without anyone coming inside and Zayn's mind began to drift. He usually was better at containing this but this time…

_Blood. The smell of crimson. It was everywhere._

_There was a hint of gunpowder in the air as well. Zayn couldn't move, he was absolutely frozen to the spot. __**What the hell had Tanner got them into?**_

_And then there was a scream that he recognized almost better than he recognized his own. It was bloodcurdling cry of pain and protest, but soon there was only a slight moaning and finally… silence._

_Zayn looked over the side of the box and saw Tanner, lying with his shaggy dark hair, staring directly at Zayn with a glassy look. Tanner was gone._

_The sound of whirring came from behind Zayn as a chainsaw lowered down right beside his left shoulder, clipping it slightly. The bloke wielding it had an utterly mad look in his eyes, and it made Zayn's breath hitch in absolute terror._

_He needed to escape but how could he just leave Tanner like that? They were over their heads and it had cost Tanner his life. But now, Zayn had to save his own._

_He ducked under the whirring blade of the saw that was stuck in a box and darted out of his hiding spot. He was now in full view. It was time to fight or flee; he went with the latter and ran for his life._

"Ahem-"

Zayn was awoken from his day terror (or day version of a nightmare) and met the eyes of a young and handsome young guy.

"Er-sorry." Zayn muttered, shaking his mind of the terrible memories. His voice showed a little bit of his accent because of the sudden inquiry but he masked it by biting his lip.

The curly haired bloke hesitated for a moment and cocked his head to one side. He looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

Zayn's breath hitched at the question. It always surprised him when someone showed they cared.

"I'm fine, daydreaming is all." Zayn responded, making sure to keep the accent out of his voice completely.

"Oh, ok, good. So, I guess you're Ian then?" The stranger asked.

Zayn looked down at his shirt to check that he didn't have a nametag on. When he didn't, he got a little freaked out and it showed on his face.

"I'm not a mind reader, I'm just Niall's friend. My name's Harry, Harry Styles. He said you're the one to come to if I need some advice on a gift for a beginner painter." Harry answered and Zayn breathed out, completely relieved.

"Then I'm your man! Are you shopping for yourself or…?" Zayn asked, slipping out from behind the counter.

The remnants of his memory still had his stomach in knots but he decided that the guy in front of him would be a sufficient amount of distraction. His hands trembled so he shoved them in his pockets.

Harry looked down at his toes for a moment before saying, "Myself. I think I might try my hand at a creative outlet. My life is sort of boring right now and Niall suggested painting as a distraction."

"…. Can he even paint?" Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow as he led Harry over to the paint section of the store.

Harry chuckled. "He finger paints. He calls it abstract art and he sometimes makes these weird figurines with garbage and stuff. They're awful, but you didn't hear that from me."

Zayn laughed as well, he felt bad taking joy in his coworker's misfortune but he needed a little amusement in his very dull life.

"So…. How do you know Niall?" Zayn wondered, picking up some brushes and handing them to Harry.

"We've been friends for as long as I can remember and now we work here in the mall together. I work at the build a bear and our other best friend, Louis, works at the Lady Footlocker." Harry explained, taking the brushes and dropping them into his shopping basket.

Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Lady foot locker?"

"It's an ongoing joke, but it's the only place that would hire him. He looks pretty girly anyway so he fits the bill." Harry answered, grinning devilishly.

"Oh! And Liam works at the bookstore. I always forget to mention him because he's so darn quiet." Harry added.

Zayn wished he could have as normal of a life as Harry and his friends seemed to lead. They all grew up together and were the best of friends who now worked together, it just all seemed so easy.

"I think this is a good place to start because it's your first time." Zayn explained, putting a couple pieces of canvas into Harry's arms.

The curly haired bloke looked a bit overwhelmed but very excited about his new hobby at the same time.

"Thanks for the help, Ian. Niall says your new in town and don't know many people and you seem like a cool guy. Maybe after you and Niall close up shop here you could swing by our apartment for a drink?" Harry suggested, walking back toward the till.

Niall had disappeared somewhere into the back, so Harry and Zayn were now alone in the shop. Zayn knew that Agent Leeman wasn't going to approve of the socialization but Zayn was going to die of boredom if he never had a social life. He would follow the guidelines that the agent set out for him (basically daily) and would make sure to be as discrete as possible.

"Of course, I'd love to. Where is your flat?" Zayn asked.

Harry gave him an odd look and then Zayn realized his slip of the tongue.

"Flat?" Harry muttered, confused by the word Zayn had used.

"Apartment is what I meant. My dad is British so I grew up with weird words… y'know?" Zayn covered, nervously. He hoped desperately that Harry would believe him and pass the slip up as a simple mistake.

"Oh, cool! Well, I'll get Niall to give you directions. I guess I should pay for these now, right?" Harry said, putting the items down onto the counter.

"I'll give you the employee discount, just don't tell anyway, okay?" Zayn stated, ringing the items in with the scanner.

Harry paid the amount and then said, "Thanks. 'Mum's the word' on the discount, we can keep that between us."

The curly haired guy winked at Zayn before walking out of the store. Zayn smiled brightly as he rest his elbow down on the till.

Niall emerged from the back room and saw that his coworker looked like he was enjoying himself for once. He didn't know much about Ian but he thought he was a pretty cool, even though generally he was broody and sarcastic. The guy was clearly trying to protect himself and Niall was going to respect that for he understood what it was like to have a secret of his own.

"You're smiling! This might be a first!" Niall exclaimed, walking over to where Zayn was perched.

"Good one, Niall. But, actually, your friend Harry just came in and invited me over for some drinks after work. You down?" Zayn wondered, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"That'll be a lot of fun. I've been meaning to introduce you to the boys but I was never sure you'd be interested. You'll fit right in. Only two more hours and then we'll be free from this hell that we call our workplace." Niall responded before walking over to the empty boxes.

He began to fold them down as Zayn continued to attend to the till.

Zayn knew that Leeman wasn't going to be impressed with the friends he was making, but he didn't care. He needed something more than a job, an identity change and a relocation to distract him from what had happened.

This was going to be the start of the new chapter of his life as Ian Daniels; he wasn't going to let his past hold him back from continuing on into the future.


	2. Chapter 2

_Living as Ian Daniels sometimes made things easier, but other times made situations hard to keep track of. Sure, there were only subtle changes between their back-story but every morning, Ian Daniels woke up as Zayn Malik and had to be reminded about the horrors he had gone through to have to become Ian Daniels. It was all very exhausting but Zayn knew at the end of one exhausting day of pretending to be someone else, he got to go home and become Zayn Malik again. _

_But, today was not one of those days._

"Did you just try and get the driver's seat again, Ian?" Niall teased as Zayn moved quickly past his blond friend to the other of the car, his cheeks hot with embarrassment.

They both climbed into Niall's little Volkswagen Jetta and Zayn just shrugged. "I'm just used to being the driver. Y'know?"

Niall totally got it. He loved to drive… even though he wasn't very good at it. Zayn found this out a couple seconds later when Niall slammed on the brakes in front of a very visible stop sign.

"That sign has never moved, you know that right?" Zayn asked, clawing his fingers into the seat out of fear.

Niall rolled his eyes, he hated when people criticized his driving. He knew he wasn't a very good driver and he didn't need others to remind him of that fact.

"Yes, I'm well aware. I just got a bit distracted by… well, you talking." Niall grumbled defensively, shooting a look at Zayn accusingly.

Zayn held his arms straight up into air to feign innocence. "I didn't do a thing! You were the one who started the conversation!"

"Don't make me stop this car, Ian!" Niall threatened and Zayn sincerely didn't understand what was going wrong.

Zayn shook his head in confusion. "What does that even mean? You make so little sense sometimes, Niall!"

Niall swerved the little car to the side of the road and put it in park. He turned toward Zayn and narrowed his blue eyes at the tan bloke.

"One rule. 1. My car, I drive as I please. I'm not a good driver; I get that, but don't bring it up every two seconds. Abide by that simple rule and I am willing to cart your ass anywhere you damn please, because I'm a good guy like that. But don't respect the way I drive the Niallmoblile and you ass will be hitting the curb instead." Niall explained, a very serious tone to his voice.

Zayn wanted to laugh so badly at his ridiculous little friend who very much reminded him of a grumpy leprechaun at the moment but decided to go with a simple: "I'll go for the first option. I think in this weather, my ass would get a little frozen on the curb."

The last part of Zayn's comment made Niall break out of his serious stupor and smile brightly at Zayn. "You're good people, Ian Daniels. A smart ass, but definitely good people."

The blond put the car back into drive and merged back onto the main road. He began to drive down a road that Zayn didn't recognize. Instead of houses and suburban development, the road was suddenly sandwiched by trees.

Zayn thought it was absolutely beautiful but Niall didn't seem quite as moved by the change in scenery.

"Where exactly are we going? Is Harry's apartment not in town?" Zayn inquired, surveying the gorgeous sea of green that surrounded them.

Niall smirked over at Zayn. "You're going to love his place, he calls it an apartment as a joke but it's actually more like a house. He got it from his parents as part of his trust fund. It's on a lake, actually. Lake Samish."

They exited onto an even more remote road that seemed to twist and wind forever. But suddenly, through the trees, Zayn caught sight of a glistening and gorgeously smooth lake.

"Wow." He murmured, in complete awe at its majesty.

"I know, huh? Imagine painting that." Niall prompted and Zayn decided he would have to make a point of doing so in the future.

They drove down a very steep driveway until they rounded about in front of a house. It was beautiful and Niall had been right, it was much too expansive to be simply a cabin.

Harry came trotting down the stairs to greet Niall and Zayn's arrival. Two guys that Zayn didn't recognize followed close behind. One was tall with broad shoulders and a soft smile while the other was medium height with an impish look. Both seemed welcoming enough to Zayn.

"Welcome, Ian!" Harry said, running around to open the door of the car for his new friend.

Zayn thought it was such a kind but odd gesture, he couldn't just let it pass by. "Well, I guess chivalry isn't dead."

Harry winked at Zayn and said, "Of course not! Gentlemen do still exist, Ian, you just got to keep your eyes peeled for them."

Zayn blushed as he climbed out of the car. He hid it by laughing in response to Harry's comment. When Niall got out of the car, he ran over and jumped onto Louis in a tackle hug.

Zayn walked over to the steps where Niall was tickle attacking the smaller bloke while the taller one looked on the exchange fondly.

"Guys, this is Ian Daniels, he works with Nialler at the arts store in Bellis Fair." Harry introduced, gesturing at Zayn.

"You don't really look like an Ian, but if that's your name, then that's what I'll call you. I'm Louis, by the way." The guy under Niall stated, a grin on his face.

He pushed Niall off of him and scrambled up to his feet. He stuck out his hand toward Zayn and he took it. "Yah, sometimes I don't feel like an 'Ian' either, but yah know…"

Harry chuckled. "And the strong and sensitive one is Mr. Liam Payne. He's our resident bookworm."

"Hey, man. It's nice to meet you." Zayn said and Liam nodded in response.

Liam seemed like a big thinker, he clearly was the most grounded and responsible one of the group.

"So… wait, do you guys all live here?" Zayn inquired, looking up at the house.

"That we do, it's a bit of a sausage fest, but it works because we all work at the mall and take classes at the University of Washington." Louis explained, helping Niall up to his feet.

"We've been friends for longer than I can even remember and when Harry got this place, we all slowly wiggled our way in. I was first, of course." Niall stated, smiling his signature toothy smile.

Harry rolled his eyes and threw an arm around Niall, mussing the blonds' hair. "He has a way of wiggling his cute little head into things that don't concern him."

Zayn was a little confused by the statement but decided to ignore it as he watched Niall writhe in protest in Harry's grasp.

"I was second and I was the one who decorated the place. Take a look at the library, there's a section on art history that I think you would like." Liam advised, clearly proud of his contribution to the household.

Zayn nodded appreciatively at Liam. "Thanks, man, I think I'd really love that."

"God, Liam, you are such a nerd. Ian's not going to want to hang out with us anymore if you keep up with this crap." Louis teased, poking the taller bloke in the ribs.

Liam glowered at Louis but seemed unmoved by the impish lad's jibes.

"Well, what are we waiting for, boys? Let the drinking begin!" Harry prompted, ushering his friends and Zayn inside.

The inside of the house was exactly what a stereotypical American frat house looked like but it was immaculate. The cleanliness was probably thanks to Liam at Zayn's estimation.

There was an actual bar that Louis quickly slipped behind and wall of liquor behind it.

"I'm the resident bartender, whatever you want, I can make it." Louis explained to Zayn, already preparing a drink for himself as he spoke.

Zayn spotted the library and stared in awe at the piles and piles of books that lined the shelves. And, just like in Beauty and the Beast, there was stepladder that stretched across the shelves to accommodate reaching for the higher ones.

But Zayn's favorite part was the enormous windows that showed a perfect view of the lake and all it's glory.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" Harry asked, startling Zayn as he appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"I don't think there's a word in any language that could do it justice." Zayn breathed, his breath taken away by the body of water's beauty.

There were trees surrounding the entire lake and only a few other cabins that surrounded it. Zayn felt like he was in some sort of haven, where one could heal and forget the pains of the past. It was epitome of peaceful.

"Here's a beer, man, I mean, if you drink." Harry said, passing Zayn a red cup.

"Oh, I drink." Zayn assured him, slugging back half of the drink. "Thanks."

Harry smiled at his new friend. "Oh, perfect! Niall help me bring out the beer bong, we've got a partier in our midst."

Niall's eyes widened with wonder before he scurried off to grab it.

"So, is it a common occurrence for you guys to party on a Tuesday night?" Zayn wondered. "Not that I mind, of course!"

"It was a long day today, and none of us have work or school tomorrow, so Tuesday is the night to do it. Plus, Tuesdays are never special, so if we have a chance to make something of such a boring day, why not?" Harry answered as Louis dropped two more beers on the counter closest to them.

"That's a really good way to think about it." Zayn mused and Harry flashed a triumphant smile back at him.

Zayn saw Liam reading on an armchair in the corner. "Does he not join in on the Tuesday fun?"

"He's like our designated driver, he makes sure things don't get too crazy because he really doesn't like to drink. He says it 'alters your perception and intelligence' and he's just not into that, being an intellect and all." Harry answered.

Niall returned with the beer bong, squirming with excitement. Zayn's phone rang and he bit his lip as whether to pick it up or not.

He took it out of his pocket and saw that Agent Leeman was calling and he couldn't afford to miss a call from him, especially if he wanted to continue to hang out with the guys.

"Just answer it, man. The drinking can wait." Harry prompted and Zayn gave him an appreciative look before skittering away to a private part of the house.

He quickly picked up the phone.

"Where the hell are you, _Ian?" _ The agent practically barked at him through the phone.

Zayn winced before responding, "I'm at a friend's place, just calm down, it's remote and I know I can trust these guys. They're totally harmless."

"Just like Tanner's friends were and look where that got both of you."

The agent's comment was harsh and it stung, but Zayn understood why he was using that tactic. His job was to protect Zayn and if that meant pissing him off to do so, he didn't care.

"Don't you dare talk about him that way. I get that I'm your responsibility, but don't bring him into this. This is completely different. I'm halfway across the world for Christ's sake!" Zayn objected, his voice wavering with frustration.

"You have to doubt everything or it'll cost you. If you think you can trust them, I'll do background checks and get back to you. But, don't think I approve of this, Ian."

Zayn sighed but accepted that the agent was simply doing his job. "Okay, I guess I'll talk to you later."

"And, I'm picking you up at eleven, I'll wear the 'dad' getup."

"Are you seriously giving me a curfew? I'm twenty one year old!"

"See you then!"

Zayn hung up the phone, his blood boiling. He looked up to see Harry laughing almost silently.

"Daddy issues?" The curly haired bloke teased.

"Shut up, I need to get drunk." Zayn responded, brushing by his new friend.

Harry cackled like a mad man before following after Zayn.

_This was going to be an interesting night._


	3. Chapter 3

After three rounds of dominating beer pong against Louis and Niall along with his partner, Harry, Zayn was sufficiently drunk.

"Ian! You are epic, man! I think you're the best teammate I've ever had, Louis and Niall always win. Today is the beginning of a new era, we will reign together as the new kings of Lake Samish, Harry Styles and Ian Daniels." Harry exclaimed, throwing an arm enthusiastically around Zayn.

Zayn tried desperately to hide his blush but then realized that it probably wouldn't matter considering how red his cheeks were already because of the consumption of alcohol. He had a tendency to turn into a tomato even if he had darker skin.

"I played a lot in my teens, I was sort of the champion of my neighborhood. Although, I guess that's a lot less of a title than royalty." Zayn joked, grinning up at Harry.

Harry laughed and then threw back another red cup of beer.

"There must be a method to your crazy skills, man, reveal your secrets!" Louis demanded, always a sore loser.

Niall had already started to set up another game when Zayn stopped him by lifting up his hand in protest. "I think I need a break, Nialler, my head is starting to spin. I haven't drank in a while… "

Niall looked a bit disappointed but he understood and opted to chug all the beer he had already set up.

"And Louis, to answer your question about my secret, perfect practice makes perfect." Zayn advised, winking at the impish lad who was now pouting because of the defeat.

Liam watched from an armchair, his nose buried in a book that Zayn couldn't even begin to read the title of in his state. Zayn hadn't seen Liam touch a drop of alcohol the entire night but every so often, he would glance up at the group, smile fondly, and then return to his reading. Liam was obvious the member of the group who kept everyone in good form and protected them from going too far in the drinking department; Zayn appreciated and respected that quality of Liam immensely.

It made Zayn wish that he had had a friend like Liam to watch over he and Tanner's antics, for maybe then, Tanner wouldn't be gone now…

"_I don't want to do this, Tanner." Zayn murmured, watching as Tanner packed up the bag of cash he had collected that week because of his dealing._

_Tanner smirked at his feeble friend and responded, "Mate, you really need to calm down. This is about making a business choice, and it's a damn well lucrative choice at that. So, we have to do a little dirty work before the pay off, that's just fine with me because when the pay off does come, it will be worth all the slaving away we did."_

"_**You**__ did. I haven't done a thing, you're just making me come along for the ride." Zayn corrected, crossing his arms in frustration at his stubborn friend. "I don't want any part of this outside of tonight, this has been going on for too long, Tanner, I think after tonight, you should cool down on the operation a bit."_

"_Cool down, are you kidding me, Malik? Cooling down is the opposite of what I need to be doing! After tonight, that's when the real shit begins, this is just a spark to ignite the flame of my success." Tanner snapped, his eyes intense with passion._

_Zayn felt as if he was looking into the eyes of a stranger. Ever since Tanner had begun to deal, he had changed dramatically for the worse. He used to be a simple and harmless thrill seeker and now had turned into a full fledge and addicted criminal._

_And there was nothing Zayn could do to stop it, besides go along with his best friend to ensure his safety. _

"_Zayn, you owe me. Please be my back up." Tanner said, his tone suddenly softening and morphing into almost a pinnacle of the former Tanner that Zayn had originally become friends with._

_Zayn sighed, unable to refuse the old Tanner. "Fine… But if I sense even a shred of danger or sketchiness, we are out of there. I get to make that call."_

_Tanner hesitated about this proposition for a moment but then, realizing he had no other option, gave in. "Deal. You say you want to go and I'll follow. No questions asked."_

"_Good." Zayn answered as Tanner slipped the bag of money over his shoulder. _

_Although Zayn's instincts told him there was something not right, he followed Tanner out the door anyway. It would be the last time he wouldn't trust his instincts._

"Ian..? Are you okay?" Harry inquired, waving a hand in front of Zayn's glassy eyes.

Zayn shook his head of the memory and put a reassuring smile up on his face because of Harry's proximity. Zayn licked his lips before responding, "Oh, just got caught up in my mind, y'know? I'm totally fine."

Harry seemed satisfied with the answer and grabbed Zayn by the hand. "Follow me, I want to show you something."

Zayn looked around the room, seeing that Niall and Louis were challenging each other at Super Mario Kart while Liam still was reading away on the armchair. Nobody seemed to notice him and Harry holding hands, even if it was in a platonic way as they exited the room and went up a flight of stairs that Zayn hadn't seen before.

"Where exactly are you whisking me away too, Styles?" Zayn asked, mischievously as they climbed the last steps of the stairs.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise. Close your eyes!" Harry demanded, pausing at the top of the stairs.

Zayn hated the dark, but instead of just saying that he turned it around into a flirtatious jibe. "I don't know if I want to do that, Harry, can I trust you not to just throw me down the stairs?"

Harry gave him an odd look, Zayn realized it had probably sounded better in his head. He looked awkwardly down at the ground and Harry pulled his chin up and smirked at him.

"You're adorable in a totally weird way." Harry stated, looking into Zayn's eyes.

Zayn quickly got lost in Harry's dazzling emerald eyes whose beauty was even more augmented than usual, probably due to Zayn's beer goggles.

Harry moved his hands over Zayn's eyes as a makeshift blindfold, which obstructed Zayn's view completely.

"Just be very careful, you're about to climb up some ladder rungs." Harry advised, moving Zayn toward an object that at least felt like a ladder.

"You're making me climb up a ladder completely blind?" Zayn wondered incredulously.

Harry chuckled and then assured his friend, "I'll be your eyes."

Zayn took a deep breath before beginning his journey up the rungs. There were exactly six of them and Harry followed close behind Zayn to ensure the tan bloke didn't fall backward due to his lack of sight.

"Last step now…." Harry advised as Zayn climbed up to the top.

Zayn shimmied onto what seemed like carpet and finally Harry released him from the darkness. It took a moment for Zayn's eyes to adjust to the light but when he saw where Harry had taken him, he knew that it had been well worth the wait.

Harry and Zayn were inside a tree house that had seemingly built inside the cabin. There was a view outside onto the lake from a large window that was cut into one wall of the tree house. It made Zayn feel like a kid again but in a totally mature way. Zayn felt as if he was living in an adventure story that he didn't belong in, but maybe that was just the beer (and who knows what else) that he had consumed over the evening.

"Is this… real?" Zayn asked of Harry who had just pulled himself up into the tree house.

"It's cool, isn't it? I had it taken from my old house and built it right into this one. It's kind of where I spent most of my time when I was a kid. Hiding from the neighborhood girls, playing pirates and reading my face off." Harry explained, running his hand along the wooden boards that made up the tree house's structure.

Zayn looked around the childish scrawl that he hadn't noticed before on the walls of the tree house. There were drawings of Harry Potter characters, knights battling dragons, and quotes from multiple Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein books. It made Zayn feel as if he was immersing himself in a little bit of Harry's life story which made him feel a lot closer to the curly haired bloke.

"Now that I've show you a bit of my past, want to tell me your story?" Harry inquired.

Zayn suddenly paled, feeling a bit claustrophobic in the confined space. His drunken haze was lifted as he went into slight panic mode. He backed up a few feet from Harry and leaned against the wall of the tree house.

He didn't want to have to lie to Harry but considering they had known each other for less than a day, he knew he shouldn't simply bear it all.

"_Don't trust people, even if you want too. It could mean putting your life in their hands." _

Agent Leeman's words rung true in Zayn's mind and they confirmed his decision to keep the truth from Harry, for now at least.

Harry noticed Zayn's discomfort and realized he had made a mistake by asking about it. He made up for this by making a joke to light the mood: "Okay, you can stay mysterious, it suits you well anyway."

Zayn was relieved by Harry's sensitivity to his hesitancy. It assured him that Harry really was a good person and that maybe someday he could share what happened with his new friend.

"Thanks. I do the brooding think very well." Zayn played along, putting on his best 'teen angst' pout.

Harry burst out laughing, falling back on a pile of pillows. Zayn took a chance and rested himself down next to Harry. Zayn was delighted to see a skylight in the ceiling of the tree house as well.

"I want to pain that." Harry noted, pointing up at the clear night sky, dotted with sparkling stars.

"I'd love to see it when it's finished." Zayn noted, turning on his side so he had a perfect view of Harry looking up at the sky in complete awe and appreciation.

Zayn wished he could paint the look in Harry's gorgeous Emerald eyes, with a reflection of the stars inside the illuminated orbs. Now, that would be breathtaking.

"Can I see some of your work sometime?" Harry asked, looking over at Zayn, who he now realized was closer than he had anticipated.

"I haven't done any since I moved here and I left all my work back home. But, when I do some, you'll be the first to see, I promise." Zayn answered, smiling genuinely at Harry.

"Deal." Harry agreed, grinning back at Zayn.

Zayn turned onto his back, staring up at the sky once again. He felt the comfort of Harry's presence next to him, the sides of their hands slightly touching one another.

Zayn could finally relax…. Until his phone rang from within his pocket.

"Daddy calls?" Harry teased, smirking over at Zayn.

Zayn flicked Harry's head in rebuttal before propping himself up onto his elbows. He accepted the call reluctantly.

"I'm outside." Agent Leeman muttered, sounding more like an order than anything else.

Zayn sighed. "Okay, I'll be down in a few."

"Are you going to just leave me alone here, Ian?" Harry pouted playfully.

Zayn wanted desperately to remain there beside Harry but he knew the Agent would kill him if he didn't abide his wishes.

"Unfortunately, I must." Zayn murmured.

"All right, I'll walk you out." Harry said, moving to climb down the ladder.

"Forever the gentleman." Zayn noted which earned him a signature Harry Styles wink.

He followed Harry back down to the front door where he saw the Agent's SUV idling outside the glass windows.

Niall and Louis were passed out on the kitchen counter and Liam twiddled his fingers goodbye from behind his book.

"Bye, Liam," Zayn called before Harry opened the front door.

"I guess I'll see yah around the mall, but we have to do this again, okay?" Harry implored, with an eager smile.

"Definitely." Zayn agreed before the Agent honked the horn to signal his impatience.

"Tell Daddy I say hi!" Harry greeted in a mocking tone as Zayn ran to the car.

"Fuck you very much!" Zayn responded which got a good laugh out of Harry.

Agent Leeman simply shook his head as Zayn slipped into the car. But Zayn could care less that what the Agent thought in that moment for he had had the best night of his life since the accident.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning, sunshine." Agent Leeman greeted, looking up from the newspaper he had his nose buried in.

Zayn felt like death. He had never been great with hangovers and this was one had hit him hard. He needed coffee but for a moment he didn't even remember how to make it. He walked over to the coffee maker and just stared at it as the agent chuckled at Zayn's expense.

"The coffee goes in the top with a filter, and you need water." The agent instructed in sheer amusement.

The tan bloke whirled around and gave Leeman a dirty look. "Yah, thanks, I'm just hung-over not a total idiot."

"Could've fooled me." Leeman muttered before returning to his reading.

Zayn continued to scowl at the agent as he prepared his coffee. Once he was done with the prep, he slipped into a chair at the kitchen table and let his head fall down onto it while he waited for it to finish.

Leeman flicked him in the head but Zayn simply refused to budge. So, the agent flicked him again but much harder.

"What the bloody hell?" Zayn exclaimed, throwing his head up and narrowing his bloodshot eyes at Leeman.

The agent smirked in satisfaction. "Just checking if you were still alive. You looked like you weren't breathing and it wouldn't look good if you died from alcohol poisoning when I was on duty. Comprende?"

"I loathe you." Zayn growled before lowering his head back toward the table.

Leeman slipped a hand out and guided Zayn's face back up to his level. "I don't care if you loathe me, resent me or outright hate me. It's my job to keep you safe… and I don't condone sleeping at the breakfast table."

"So, what? Do you want to talk, like, actually have a normal conversation?" Zayn teased, beaming at the agent.

"I did a background check on your 'friends'. Seems like Mr. Tomlinson has been booked for petty theft and Harry Styles… well, that's just another story." Leeman said before turning his attention back to his newspaper for the sole purpose of aggravating Zayn.

Zayn's breath hitched. _Of course Harry had to be too good to be true. Why did reality always have to ruin everything?_

"Wait. What about Harry?" Zayn inquired, tugging at the top of Leeman's newspaper.

Leeman snorted. "Curly cue's family has a little bit of a dark past. His father's a bit of a shady businessman who basically screws over thousands of people by buying businesses, corrupting them and selling them for more than they are worth. Usually they end up bankrupt afterward and Harry's family reeks the benefits of people out of work."

An explosion of defensive thoughts erupted from Zayn's mouth before he could even stop them: "But that doesn't have anything to do with Harry, right? It's his family but he's never done anything to intentionally ruin someone's life? I mean, I just can't see that.."

Leeman's eyes grew sympathetic. He found it completely insane that Zayn still was able to see the best in everyone and trust so easily. He was already so invested in Harry when they had basically just met.

"Look, Zayn, I'm sorry, but the evidence stands. Harry's going to school for business as we speak and while he hasn't necessarily done anything substantial yet, I have a feeling that pretty boy is going to take the easy route and folly in Dark Daddy's footsteps." The agent shared his genuine opinion.

Leeman had seen his fair share of bad eggs in his time and while he hadn't met Harry face to face, there was enough of a paper trail to make him assume that he would turn out like the rest of the manipulators that ruled the country. He had the money and the potential; it was just about the factor of time now…

"I just can't see him doing that. He works in a frickin' mall for heaven's sake. Just like me and the rest of his friends. He's totally down to earth and caring, I just can't what you're saying ever coming to fruition." Zayn continued, calming down significantly.

Leeman nodded understandingly but still had a job to do: "I'm going to keep an eye on him but I'm not going to bug you about it again unless I find something serious, all right?"

Zayn was startled by how kind the agent was being; he might even go far as to class Leeman's last gesture as fatherly. It was a weird thought but something that Zayn could get used to. Because at the end of the day, he knew the agent cared (especially more than he liked to show).

"Thanks, Leeman." Zayn murmured, smiling at the agent before rising to his feet and collecting his coffee.

"Do you need a ride to work?" Leeman wondered, picking his newspaper back up.

"Niall's actually coming to pick me up, but thanks for the offer." Zayn responded and the agent nodded before returning to his reading.

Zayn wandered back to his bedroom with his piping hot coffee and was surprised to see a text from an unknown number on his cell.

**Hope your dad doesn't think too badly of me for my obnoxious greeting last night. Oh, and good morning! :D**

**-H**

Zayn smiled, realizing that Niall must've passed on his number to Harry. He quickly shot Harry a response before he got ready for work.

_Don't worry about him, he's just protective. And good morning to you as well!_

_-I_

The texting exchange continued all the way to work, to the point where Niall started joking that it was becoming a bit of an 'affair'. Zayn purposely rolled his eyes at the comment and changed the subject.

"So, what's the story about Liam? He's just so… quiet." Zayn expressed, putting his phone away in his pocket so he could have a real conversation with his blond friend.

Niall's face went a little dark for a moment before he could respond, "Liam is a bit protective and cautious, but for good reason. He's introverted because of trauma and while he tries, he just can't get past some of his compulsions."

"W-what happened?" Zayn wondered, hoping he wasn't overstepping his boundaries.

"Liam's older brother, Trevor, died when we were about eight. He was drunk out of his mind one night when Liam and I were having a sleepover. Liam always hated seeing his brother like that but he wouldn't ever say anything about it. Trevor was always a bit of a thrill seeker, so, when one of his friends suggested skinny-dipping in the dead of night, he was the first one in the water. Liam tried to stop him, even going out of his comfort zone by following Trevor out to the dock and protesting the entire time. I stayed back at the house, completely frozen in fear of teenagers but all I could hear was Liam begging Trevor to not get in the water. Unfortunately, he dove headfirst and cracked his head on a rock. Liam watched the entire thing and even jumped into the water to find him. He was too little and almost drowned himself in the effort. Thankfully a neighbor was having a smoke on their dock and ran over to save Liam…. He's never been the same since." Niall explained, his knuckles turning white as he gripped onto the wheel at the memory.

Zayn couldn't believe his ears. He knew exactly what it was like to be completely helpless in a situation, when someone won't listen to your objections because of the state of mind they are in.

He knew of the shock and emptiness that you felt when it was too late. He knew of the guilt that consumes and begins to suffocate you. He knew of the darkness and the numbness that came afterward. At first it seems like a gift but soon you find yourself lost in its grasp.

"_Fucking give me the money. Hand it over." An angry voice demanded. _

"_Not until you take my business venture seriously. I really need you to consider the angle I'm coming from…" Tanner objected, once again._

_Zayn knew that it would only make the person angrier, but he stayed in his hiding spot, frozen with fear._

"_Are you high? Do you know who you're dealing with right now?" The faceless person growled, clearly becoming only more enraged as Tanner continued._

_And then Tanner did something that he never should have. He laughed. _

_Zayn's stomach tightened at the awful sound of his friend laughing in the face of a gun wielding drug lord. It was then when Zayn knew it was too late for Tanner._

_And yet, when the gunshot sounded, it was the most shocking thing that had ever happened to Zayn and ever would._

"Ian, are you okay? You're trembling…" Niall murmured, looking at his coworker in deep concern.

Zayn was shaking the way that Liam did after he experienced a flashback to the memory of losing Trevor. It was always hard to know how to deal with it because sometime Liam would be able to just move on but other times, he'd be catatonic for hours on end.

Niall was just glad that he had been able to park before his friend's episode had begun. He wouldn't have been able to connect with Zayn well enough if he had still been driving.

The tan bloke brought his hands up to his head and slowly rubbed circles into his temples. It took him a moment to coax his body out of the shock of the memory but sure enough, it worked.

The last thing Zayn wanted to do was scare away the blond.

"I-I'm fine, don't worry about me Niall. Let's just…. Uh… go inside." Zayn suggested, undoing his seat belt and getting out of the car.

Niall hesitated to inquire any further, deciding that if his friend wanted to keep whatever had happened to himself, he could respect that. He could tell that he wasn't going to have to keep Liam's situation on the down low either because Zayn clearly understood that such things shouldn't be spoken about around the person who had experienced the trauma.

"Aren't you excited for another thrilling day at work?" Niall cried sarcastically, linking his elbow through Zayn's and trotting along happily.

Zayn was dragged along by the enthusiastic blond and was quickly swept up in the distraction from his own problems that it provided. Niall was good at that, re-directing people away from the darkness. Zayn figured that Niall probably did the same (or as much as he could) with Liam.

"As long as you're around, Nialler, I think I'll be able to get through the day." Zayn answered, ruffling the blonds' hair with fervor.

Niall laughed and squirmed away as they got to the back of the mall where employees entered. Niall continued on, skipping his way into the mall as Zayn's phone buzzed in his pocket.

He whipped it out and was glad to see a text from 'curly cue' himself.

**We should do dinner. Old Country buffet at 7pm. It's the gang's Wednesday tradition. Join us or forever regret it.**

**-H**

Zayn laughed at the half-threat that Harry had sent him, combined with an invitation to dinner. _How could he possibly refuse an offer so sweet?_

_Of course I'll be there. The idea of stuffing my face with mashed potatoes and other deliciousness just can't be denied. I would be depriving myself if I didn't give in to the intoxicating lure of corn on the cob._

_-Z_

**You're insane. And I love it. Because I'm insane as well. See you at dinner and have a good work shift with Nialler!**

**-H**

_We can be the insanity twins. It will be perfection. As for work, thanks; we will have to survive it together. _

_-Z_

Zayn shot off the text before following Niall into work.

The tan bloke didn't understand how Leeman could thing that Harry had a wicked bone in his body, despite his father's well-practiced 'evil'. Harry was different. He had to be. Harry was just… Harry.


	5. Chapter 5

The workday has been anything from boring. Apparently there was a crafting contest happening in Linden and all of the old church ladies needed supplies to enter so they had basically stormed the store.

Finally at six o'clock sharp, Niall and Zayn were finally able to close shop. They pulled down the grate at the opening of the store together in celebration of their busy as hell day.

"I-I can't ever touch yarn again, I think it will actually make me sick to my stomach." Niall explained, his eyes glazed over.

"Me neither. The thought of it makes me cringe." Zayn agreed. "I also don't want to have to discuss the difference between Fuchsia and mauve ever again. How do people not know what those colors are?"

"Ignorance is NOT bliss when you work in the service industry." Niall said, as he cashed out on the register.

Zayn laughed as they finished up the rest of their duties for the evening. Niall mopped the floor as Zayn wiped off all the surfaces.

"So are we going to go to dinner with everyone?" Zayn inquired, as he finished off the final counter.

"That's the plan, Stan." Niall muttered, putting the mop back into the supply closet. "Time to lock up and then meet the gang at the buffet."

After the two blokes locked the store, they walked through the empty mall toward the buffet and met up with Louis.

"If I see another god damned overweight woman looking for Sketchers… I swear to god… I will hurt someone… badly." Louis shared, clenching his fists and practically seething with intensity.

"You look like you're about to have a mental breakdown." Zayn noted, feeling sorry for his new impish friend.

"GOOD OBSERVATION, IAN!" Louis snapped, crossing his arms in frustration.

Niall put a hand down on Louis's shoulder to comfort his manic friend. "Lou, deep breaths, don't take it out on the new guy."

Louis took three deep breaths and apologized, "Sorry, Ian, just a crazy ass day when I wanted to be watching the 'Sherlock' marathon in the comfort of Harry's cabin."

Zayn began to gush: "Oh, I love that show! It was actually filmed near…"

Niall and Louis gave him a weird look so Zayn had to think on his feet.

"It's filmed in London, where my old roommate is from. He said it was really cool and he even saw Benedict Cumberbatch a few times!" Zayn backtracked, hoping his explanation would fly with the boys and apparently it did.

"That's boss, he's actually the best." Niall said as they continued on toward the buffet.

Liam and Harry were standing outside of the buffet when the three other guys made it. Harry was wearing a bright smile on his face and he was still in his Build-a-bear outfit. Zayn couldn't help but think he looked adorable.

"I like the tie with bears on it. It's a nice touch." Zayn teased, picking up the tie and examining it closer.

Harry just stuck his tongue out at Zayn. "I'd rather work in a place like that than in an art store, I'm sure all the old ladies in their today were riveting."

"All right, no need to get pissy." Zayn scolded before Harry threw an arm around him.

Niall noticed that Liam was being particularly quiet, so he walked up to his best friend and pulled him aside.

"You ok, Li? Rough day at work?" The blonde implored, a concerned tone apparent in his voice.

Liam avoided eye contact with him for a moment. "I-I'm fine, just a bit… tired, I guess."

"Couldn't sleep again last night?" Niall wondered. "You should've just come into my room, I would've stayed up with you."

Liam became agitated with his friend's inquiry. "Niall. I'm fine. I just want to eat dinner."

Niall sighed as Liam re-joined the group where Louis was telling a very animated story about one of his annoying customers. Louis always had the best stories and was the best at retelling them for he would even out the characters.

Because of his worry for Liam, Niall couldn't even concentrate on Louis as they waited in line for the buffet. Liam was being more distant than he usually was and Niall really didn't like the feeling it was giving him. Something was wrong with Liam and he needed to find out what before it completely consumed his best friend, Niall wasn't going to let that happen again. But for now, there was no use trying to engage his friend again when he clearly didn't want that to occur.

"I'm going to eat all the mashed potatoes in the world!" Louis announced, smacking his lips in anticipation.

Once they made it to the front, Harry said, "Five for dinner please."

"That will be $85.35." The woman working the register droned.

Zayn watched in awe as the hairy mole above her lip moved as she spoke. It was so disgusting that it was mesmerizing. He wished he had his sketchpad at hand to capture the mole's atrocity. The worst part of it was the curly hair that emerged from its epicenter. It made Zayn want to gag but because he was respectful, he was able to keep it together.

Harry pulled out his wallet and Zayn began to do the same. Louis quickly put his hand on Zayn's wallet to stop him from taking out any cash.

"It's on Haz, it always is." Louis explained. "He uses the family business credit card. It's great, especially for us starving student types."

While he wanted to be appreciative, Zayn got a completely uncomfortable feeling as Harry slapped the gold credit card down onto the counter. Maybe Leeman was right; maybe Harry was just going to follow in his father's treacherous footsteps. The idea made Zayn sick to his stomach.

"Oh." He muttered, reluctantly pocketing the wallet again.

"Approved." The mole lady mumbled apathetically. "Please seat yourself."

"Thanks Harry!" Niall and Louis cheered in unison as they raced like children to a booth in the back corner of the buffet.

Harry noticed Zayn's silence as the rest of the blokes made their way to their usual table.

"Um… you okay?" Harry asked, looking at Zayn. "I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable with the whole paying thing, Ian, I really didn't mean to. If you want to pay for yourself next time, I'll totally not be an ass about it."

"Sorry, man, I just don't want to just take your money." Zayn explained of his reaction to the situation.

Harry stopped Zayn quickly by holding on to his arm. He got a very serious look in his eyes. "I don't want you to think I'm some spoiled brat who gets everything I want. I could be that if I wanted but I'm not. I use the money to help out the guys but I hate that it's _his _money."

Zayn's breath hitched. "W-what do you mean by 'his'?"

Harry sighed and hesitated for a moment before answering, "My father is a dark man, Ian, I'm not going to lie about that. Our wealth is derived from the fact that my father had to do a lot of bad things to earn it and he still does. I don't want to be anything like him. Sure, I used his money to fuel some of my financial needs because it covers the things that I can't. I work an honest job and pay for my education because I want that to be no part of his doing. I am in control of my own life now and unfortunately sometimes I use his money, it makes me guilty for a moment but then I realize I'm probably putting it to better use than he ever did by helping out my friends. I could've easily gone down the path where I simply fell into a job with him but I swear to god, the first day I start working for him will be my last. I am ashamed to be his son and that's all there is too it. So, if you don't want me to use it on things for you, I'll respect that and I'm sorry."

Zayn was absolutely taken aback by Harry's blatant honesty and so relived to hear that he wanted nothing to with his father. Although Leeman had been right about his father, his thoughts about Harry were completely off base.

"Thank you." Zayn responded, a small grin on his face.

Harry was surprised by Zayn's response, he would have expected for Zayn to think he was a total head-case because of the way had had just ranted at him. "For what…?"

"For trusting me enough just to tell me all that before I even asked. You kind of have a knack for opposing every preconception I have ever had of you. Not that I thought I couldn't trust you, I just thought you'd be a lot more conservative and secretive about things." Zayn shared, hoping he didn't sound critical.

"It's because I can trust you, Ian. I mean, I've only known you two days now and I feel like I can tell you anything." Harry answered before shaking his head, "That makes me sound crazy, right?"

Now it was Zayn's turn to feel guilty. He never had used the word trust in his response to Harry. The curly haired bloke could trust him with all his might and Zayn would never be able to divulge his secret, not in its entirety. But, he had an identity to keep up and suspicion to quell.

"Not in the slightest, I feel the exact same way." Zayn said warmly, grinning at his new friend.

Before Harry knew exactly what he was doing, he pulled Zayn into a tight hug. Both blokes melted into the instant comfort the contact provided for them. It was if they were meant to fit perfectly together as they did.

"BROMANCE ALERT!" Louis called obnoxiously from the table, causing Zayn to pull away from Harry swiftly.

"You're just jealous." Harry hollered back before winking at Zayn.

Zayn felt his face grow hot with embarrassment at the exchange but appreciated that Harry didn't look the least bit uncomfortable as they re-joined the group at the table.

"Who's ready for mountains of delicious full bred American nosh?" Niall inquired, already on his feet with his plate in his hands.

The rest of the group cheered in approval, aside from Liam who collected up his plate quietly and made his way over to the food on his own.

Zayn winced as he saw Niall watching Liam with devastating concern in his Blue eyes as the rest of the guys jumped to their feet to grab food.

To say that Zayn was full to the brim would be an understatement as Niall dropped him off at his house after the delicious meal he had had with the gang. The rest of the meal had gone over really well aside from the fact that Liam had been more quiet than usual which seemed to be really getting to Niall.

Zayn understood that Liam was probably going through another wave of depression but he also knew that isolating himself was going to only make his condition worse. But, frankly, it was none of his business so Zayn had respectfully passed the knowledge onto Niall who had dropped him off. The blonde had been very appreciative of the advice.

"Welcome home." The agent greeted as Zayn sauntered into the house, looking completely tuckered out. "Long day?"

Zayn smiled. "I feel like I have a food baby."

Leeman poked Zayn's stomach and chuckled, "Looks like it too. You teenagers have no control over your eating, you'll regret stuffing your face when you're my age, I promise you."

"I hope I'm never your age, all bitter and sarcastic." Zayn teased of the agent.

Leeman ignored Zayn's jibe and concentrated on something else he had just noticed: "You're not speaking to me with your accent like you usually do. You're still speaking American."

"Oh…. Uh…" Zayn muttered in surprise, his accent springing back into his words.

The agent laughed. "Well, now that I've brought it up it's back. But it looks like you're becoming more Ian than you ever intended."

Before Zayn could respond, the agent got to his feet and exited the room, saying: "Good night, _Ian."_

Zayn sat back in the kitchen chair, the realization that he was losing part of himself hittng him hard. He didn't want Zayn to disappear amongst his new identity. When he looked up at the toaster and saw his reflection; there was still _Zayn _but something about him had changed, not for the better or the worse, it had just changed… and it terrified him.


	6. Chapter 6

To get back to his roots, Zayn had spent the next few days that he had off of work avoiding people's calls and texts. He didn't want to forget who he was. He was not American, his name was not Ian; all he had that was the same was his painting. So that's what he did: painted.

At first the colors he used were bright and warm but slowly as he sunk back into his memories of home they became darker and more chilling. The scenes he painted were more abstract as he worked; he threw away a new sheet every time he began to hesitate on what he wanted to add to the piece. With every fresh paper, he could create a new version of his world, even if it got more and more distant from positivity as it did.

Nothing was wrong with a little darkness, especially if that was a part of who he was as Zayn now. Ian could be as happy and distracted as he wanted to be, Zayn had to remember.

Zayn had to remember his home, his family and friends who he had left behind and mostly Zayn had to remember what had happened that awful night back when Tanner made the worst and _last _choice of his life.

The current piece he was working on was especially macabre. It was riddled with shadows and distorted imagery but the one thing that was very obvious about it was that there was a body without a face at its center. Now, if you were to look at it without knowing of Zayn's story, it would raise many questions about the artist's intentions by it but Zayn knew exactly who it was: Tanner.

Tanner ruined his life. As much as he wanted to remember his friend for all the good times they had together, right now he simply resented his memory entirely. Tanner had forced him away from everything he loved and was striving for. Now all he had left was a confusing identity and a potent feeling of loss.

On the third day of his reclusion, Leeman walked into the dark drawing room that Zayn was working in and shoved a phone into his hand.

"It's Harry. It sounds important." The agent explained. "… I still don't like him."

Zayn was torn away from his spiral of reminiscing and stoically shook his head, pushing the phone back toward Leeman.

"I don't want to talk to him." Zayn muttered, turning back toward his work in progress.

Leeman sighed, he was used to this stage with participants in the witness protection program. He liked to call it 'the relapse' because this would be the time where the subjects would usually turn back to their former life and wish they could just fall right back in. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy and the agent simply didn't have the patience for it. He wanted Zayn to be as happy as he could be with his life, sure, it was part of his job to ensure that, but Leeman also genuinely cared about the young man's wellbeing, emotionally and mentally.

"Harry, I'm sorry, Ian really isn't feeling well. I'll tell him to call you back when he's better, all right?" Leeman said into the phone and then hung it up.

He stood behind Zayn, watching as he pulled a crimson stripe across the canvas. It was hard to see Zayn falling back into the depression that he had arrived in America with, Leeman knew it was time to finally talk about what had happened with Zayn.

"Tell me about the painting, Zayn." The agent instructed. "Do you think it's helping you to capture your emotions within it? Because to me, it looks like you're utterly torturing yourself with this."

Zayn lifted his paintbrush off of the painting and thought about what the agent was actually asking him. There was nothing to lose by being honest with agent, so it was time to finally be open with someone about what had happened.

"It's my way of silent therapy. It's passive and I can portray a situation however I want in my painting because I'm the creator, I decide how the world works when I press my paintbrush to the page. I try to figure out what happened there, but I just keep falling further and further into the resentful and dark nature of it all. I don't want to lose who I am but I also don't want to be the person who witnessed his best friend's death because he didn't speak up and tell his friend that what he was doing was wrong." Zayn explained, eyes stretching over every inch of the painting he was now done with.

Leeman sighed. Guilty and regret really were the driving force that brought the strongest of people down to their knees trembling. He knew first hand what it was like to have to live with either of those things and it was just utter hell having to wake up every morning and be reminded of what you could have stopped from happening; that is exactly why he decided to work for the witness protection program in the first place.

"You can't fix what happened in the past, I know that it such a cliché but with all I've seen, I know it's true. You'll dig your own grave if you keep thinking that you could've prevented what happened. Sure, you might have been able to do something but inevitably it was the individual's choice for becoming involved with whatever trouble they were involved with in the first place." The agent assured Zayn, slowly opening the curtain so light could flood the ridiculously dark room.

"I just I could forget it all happened and move on with my life." Zayn muttered, blinded by the sunlight that suddenly entered the room.

"Well, you are in a way. I think you should call Harry, maybe it would serve as a good distraction from all of… this." Leeman suggested, handing Zayn the phone before vacating the room.

Zayn looked at the phone and hesitated for a moment. He could simply continue to wallow in the darkness that surrounded his past or embrace his new life that provided him a lot more happiness. He decided upon the latter and dialed Harry's number.

"Hello?"

"Uh… hi, Harry, this is Ian. My dad said you called a couple minutes ago. What's up?

"Oh! I was wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee with me. I haven't seen you the last couple of days, so I want to catch up a bit. But your dad said you weren't feeling well, so it's no big deal, we can just do it another time."

"I just have a bit of a cold… but I'm sure some tea won't make that any worse than it already is. Where do you want to meet?"

"You sure?"

"Of course! I need to get out of this house, it's driving me crazy."

"Okay, I'll come pick you up in fifteen minutes and we can go to my favorite Starbucks. Just text me your address!"

"See you then!"

As soon as Zayn hung up the phone, he felt the smile stretched across his face in anticipation of seeing Harry again. There was something about the curly haired bloke that Zayn just couldn't get enough of.

Leeman was right, it was time for Zayn just to move on and stop dwelling on the past.

"Liam? Can we talk please?" Niall asked, through the door that Liam had just slammed in his face.

Niall could find humor in anything and it seemed that his best friend didn't exactly appreciate his jokes all the time. Liam was going through one of his rough patches and Niall had forgotten about it for one moment and everything had fallen apart.

"I don't want to talk to you, Niall, I'm tired of you making fun of every part of this world we live in. Can't you see there are dark parts of it too? Not everything is sunshine and puppy dogs." Liam argued, emotion in his voice that clearly had nothing to do with what had actually just happened.

"What you said didn't make any sense, can't you see that's why I make fun of stuff? It's because I am well aware things are shitty out there, you have to know that." Niall assured his friend, hoping that Louis wasn't coming home anytime soon to interrupt their conversation that they should have been having a long time ago.

Niall hated seeing Liam in pain, especially when he wasn't willing to just talk about it. But thankfully, Niall heard the lock click open and Liam slowly opened the door to reveal his downfallen face.

The blond quickly collected Liam into a tight hug and within seconds, Liam was sobbing. Niall's heart broke again for what the millionth time as his best friend fell apart in his own grasp.

They stood like that for a long time, Liam openly weeping in Niall's arms as he re-lived his brother's death once again. It always slapped him right in the face exactly when it had finally dissolved into nothing. It made him feel guilty for not wanting to remember his brother because of the horrible way he died.

"I hate him. How could he just leave me like that? I was so alone…" Liam murmured, biting his lips after the words were emitted from his mouth.

Niall had heard this many times, Liam resenting the way his brother died and then saying he felt completely alone after wards. What perturbed Niall the most about this statement was that he was there for Liam the entire time and yet his friend couldn't remember anything but feeling alienated by the world.

The blond remembered staying up until the late hours of the morning just holding Liam's hand as he sobbed at the loss of his brother. The bloke simply couldn't see how much Niall truly cared because it was overshadowed by Trevor's death. But, Niall would always be there for Liam, even if he were eternally unnoticed by his best friend.

"I-I'm here for you, Liam, I promise. I know it's hard to forgive him for what happened, but that's the only way you're going to be able to manage his memory coming up like it does. You don't have to torture yourself, he was the one who did that to himself, not you." Niall stated, feeling Liam tremble in his arms.

"But- But…" Liam stammered, hiccupping because he was crying so hard.

"Shh…. Shh… It's okay." Niall whispered, rubbing comforting circles into Liam's back and slowly his friend actually relaxed.

When Niall felt that Liam had sufficiently gotten over his episode, he let the bloke go and wiped away some of Liam's fallen tears.

"I'm sorry that you always have to deal with me, Niall. You shouldn't have to see me like this, I'm a grown man now for Christ's sake." Liam sputtered, moving Niall's hand away from his face.

Niall felt the rejection of Liam's touch and it hurt like hell. All he wanted was to help Liam and his friend wanted nothing to do with him.

"No, I'm sorry. I guess I should go." Niall snapped, upset by the way that Liam had pushed him away so abruptly.

He turned to go before Liam grabbed his arm to stop him. "Whoa, wait. What just happened?"

Niall didn't want to deal with this right now; he simply wanted to get away from Liam. There was something bubbling inside of him that he didn't quite understand and he was completely disgusted with himself.

"Nothing. I just… was trying to help." Niall muttered, looking down at the floor.

Liam was perplexed at the way the blond was acting. "I know, you always do and I always appreciate it. I guess I'm not great at communicating that…"

"Really?" Niall asked, looking up at Liam with his blue eyes full of surprise.

"Niall, I swear." Liam assured the blond with a very serious tone to his voice. "Hey, I know what we should do, want me to read you some of 'Hamlet' again?"

"From where we left off?" Niall inquired, excited that they were continuing their tradition of Liam reciting works of Shakespeare which they had been doing since they were just kids.

"Of course." Liam responded, grabbing his copy of the 'complete works of Shakespeare' off of his personal bookshelf where he kept all of his favorite books.

Niall beamed as he followed Liam into the library.

_Maybe just maybe things could get better if Niall just kept on showing Liam that he wasn't alone and that he never would be…._

Harry picked up Zayn in a vintage mustang and Zayn gawked at it the entire drive. Harry explained that it was the only graduation present that he had accepted from his business tycoon of a father. Zayn hadn't blamed him…

When they made it to the coffee shop, Harry ordered a chai tea latte and Zayn ordered a non-fat Americano misto.

"I'm going to pay for this one, okay?" Zayn intercepted as Harry attempted to slap down the credit card again.

"Oh, right! Sorry. Mr. Daniels gets to pay this time." Harry apologized good-naturedly. He pocketed the credit card and smiled as Zayn paid with cash.

They got their drinks and sat down at a table by the window.

"So how's the painting going?" Zayn inquired and Harry almost burst out laughing.

"Awful! I just can't seem to get any of it right. The image in my head just won't translate onto the canvas the way I want it too. It's totally brutal." Harry admitted, shaking his head at his lack of painting prowess.

Zayn smiled at his curly haired friend fondly. "It takes patience and a lot of practice. I mean, I've spent a stupid amount of hours only working on technique. It's totally worth it though."

"I should probably just give up while I'm ahead. So, have you been painting all these days when you've been completely 'off the map'?" Harry wondered before sipping at his drink.

Zayn felt instantly ridiculous for cutting himself off from his new friends and the world the way that he did. It had been over dramatic and unnecessary. But, at the same time he was slightly glad it had happened because now he knew that Harry genuinely cared about his abrupt disappearance.

"I did a bit actually." Zayn answered, unsure of how else he should elaborate without revealing anything about his past.

Harry sighed exasperatedly at the lack of excuse that Zayn had for his absence. "Ian, I called you what felt like one million and a half times to see where you were. I started to think you were dead or something. Or maybe that you didn't want to hang with me any more because of the whole 'who my father is' thing."

Zayn had to contain his excitement at the fact that Harry had missed him. So, instead he decided to tease Harry about it: "Awwwwww! You missed me!"

"I mean…. Yah… but…" Harry tried to object, his cheeks growing hot at the accusation.

"That's so adorable, you actually care!" Zayn cooed and Harry just glared at him.

"Well, now I'm not inviting you to the party I'm having tonight!" Harry jokingly stated and Zayn pretended to be devastated, sprawling in dramatic disappointment across the table.

"Only if you ask nicely." Harry added, smirking down at Zayn.

"Please, Harry? Please?" Zayn asked, propping himself up on his elbows and making puppy dogs eyes at Harry.

"All right, all right, I guess we can make some room for Ian Daniels at the soiree." Harry said, rolling his eyes but then breaking out into a smile.

"Soiree?" Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We like to have themes for our bigger parties, tonight's theme is black tie. If you don't have a tux, I can lend you one." Harry responded.

"Oh, that'd be awesome." Zayn muttered. "Thanks, man."

Harry beamed at Zayn, he was glad that his new friend had finally returned his calls. All kidding aside, Harry really had missed having Zayn around. There was just something about those brown eyes that he found comforting; they assure Harry that he could trust the bloke.

Zayn didn't need to fall back into the horrible memories that accompanied his past when he could simply begin his new life. He was still himself but he just happened to have a different name and a different sound to his voice.

_Zayn could move on, Ian and Harry were helping him to do exactly that._


	7. Chapter 7

Harry had dropped off the tux at Zayn's place earlier and though reluctant at first, Zayn finally put it on. It fit like it was custom made and considering they had different builds, this surprised him.

Zayn looked at his reflection, adjusting the tie over and over again. He was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to his appearance but he wasn't really looking at himself, he was concentrating entirely on the task at hand.

Until he finally **saw.**

His eyes trailed over his body and he was comforted by the familiar sight he saw staring back at him. The change was subtle but it was still there; he was older, wiser and looked at world through a more cynical point of view. His smiled wasn't quite as convincing as it used to be and an almost permanent tension in his furrowed brow; Zayn Malik could no longer trust the world and now this was who he had become, a shattered image of who he used to be.

But, people change and sometimes even for the better. Zayn chose not be afraid of his reflection, he instead chose to be inspired by it. Tonight, he was going to go to the party, brimming with confidence as Ian Daniels, the American artist who now had an amazing group of friends.

So much could change in such a little time and while Zayn wasn't quite ready to let go of his past, he was ecstatic about finally moving on with his life. The trauma from before still trembled below the surface but it was easier to take it stride now instead of letting it consume him entirely.

"Ian, Niall is here to pick you up!" His 'father' called from downstairs, letting him know that the bubbly blond was already growing impatient.

Zayn took one last look in the mirror, adjusted his tie and made his way down the stairs.

"See yah, Leeman." Zayn greeted, passing by the agent and seeing that Niall was standing by the front door.

The blond raised his eyebrow for a moment at Zayn but decided to make his inquiry after the door was closed. Zayn walked out the front door and shut it behind him, waiting for Niall's cue to start following him to the car.

When Niall didn't move, Zayn asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh…. Nothing." Niall stammered, hating that he was caught giving Zayn a weird look when he was just being curious. "I know I'm nosy, but why did you just call your dad 'Leeman'?"

Zayn panicked because of the slipup and was surprised that the agent hadn't picked up on it either. It wasn't that big of a deal but it was still a mistake that he needed to mend, and fast.

"Just a stupid nickname." He muttered before changing the subject to distract Niall from the weak excuse. "Well, Nialler, you really do clean up well. I'm sure the ladies will be all over you this evening."

"No need to come on to me, Daniels, I know I look good." Niall joked before trotting down the stairs to his car.

Zayn shook his head, before following his crazy friend down to the car. Niall quickly unlocked it and they both got in. They took off onto the main road where sidewalks quickly turned into a mess of trees. Zayn loved it and snapped a photo of the forest on his phone for later painting reference.

The trees whizzing past served as a good distraction from the nerves that suddenly had planted themselves in Zayn's stomach. He hadn't been to a big party since before Tanner's death so he hoped it wouldn't bring up any unwanted memories. He would just have to find Harry straight away so that he could enjoy his night rather than be bogged down by his heavy past.

"You okay, mate?" Niall wondered, glancing over at Zayn. His friend was staring out the window, seeming to be battling himself over something.

"I-I'm fine, just a little carsick. Can't wait till we get there…" Zayn sputtered back as they turned around a familiar corner.

"Well, good thing we're basically there." Niall quipped before turning down the steep driveway down to Harry's home that he shared with his three best friends.

Zayn was relieved by the fresh air that hit his face once he stumbled out of the car, Niall laughing at his poor friend.

"Ian! Niall! Welcome to the party, party central!" Louis greeted, running down the steps and wrapping his arms around his two friend's necks.

His breath reeked of alcohol and Zayn quickly squirmed out of the grasp, no longer wanting to have to be exposed to such a stench.

"Looks like you've already dipped pretty far into the drinks, Bartender." Zayn teased, ruffling Louis's hair playfully as they continued inside.

Zayn felt entirely out of place as he navigated through the crowd, seemingly of all the group's university or work friends. Everyone looked great but it wasn't really being put to good use considering most people had already spilled something or other on their clothing. It was just that type of party…

"I'm going to go find Liam, he usually hides away from these things but I'm going to try to get him socializing a bit more." Niall explained, looking through the crowd to see who had already arrived.

"Good luck with that." Zayn responded genuinely before the blond disappeared into the masses.

Zayn had never been a big fan of parties but he was willing to suck it up if it meant he got to hang out with Harry. Something about the curly haired bloke made his mind reel even just thinking about him and when Zayn spotted him talking to someone across the room, his heart raced as well.

Harry's piercing green eyes caught Zayn's gaze and Harry quickly waved him over. Making sure to regain his 'cool', Zayn walked over to join Harry who was already in a conversation but it didn't seem to concern the bloke.

"Hey." Zayn murmured, realizing he was probably joining in at an awkward time. "I don't want to interrupt or anything…"

The girl that Harry was with turned toward Zayn and smirked, ruffling her perfectly curled hair. "Hi… we're just catching up, he's my little brother and all. I'm Gemma, Gemma Styles."

"Oh, uh… it's nice to meet you." Zayn said, smiling at Harry's sister. He saw the resemblance instantly when he met her eyes.

"Sis, this is Ian Daniels, he's the new guy I was telling you about." Harry explained and Zayn bit his lip, thinking about what the hell Harry could have told her. Hopefully, it was only good things.

"My brother is a bit taken with you, Ian, you should be honored. To have a bromance with a Styles could open a lot of doors for you…" She purred and it made Zayn's skin crawl.

Her confidence reminded Zayn much of Harry's but it was a lot less humble and it was much more conceited. It made him deduce that she was still living by Daddy's rules instead of rebelling like Harry was trying to do.

"All right, Gem, why don't you find Louis to get you another drink?" Harry suggested, clearly embarrassed by his sister's forwardness.

"But I'm having fun with the new one…" Gemma complained, pouting her lip at her brother.

"Go." Harry ordered, much more sternly.

"You're no fun, Harry." She stated before turning sharply on her heel and strutting away. "All right, you boys have fun!"

Zayn was glad for Gemma's departure because it meant he finally had some alone time with Harry.

Niall knocked on Liam's door and when his friend didn't respond, opened it. Liam wasn't anywhere to be seen and that's when Niall started to panic. He took off into the crowd searching for his friend when he thought of the library. The blond squeezed through the mess of well-dressed young adults and finally made it to Liam's favorite room.

Sure enough, there was Liam but much to Niall's surprise and distress, Liam wasn't alone.

Straddling a very drunk Liam was Danielle, a dance major that Niall recognized from school. She worked with Liam and they were currently locking lips.

"Oh my god…" Niall blurted out before he could clasp a hand over his mouth to muffle his commentary on the shocking situation.

Not only had Liam never been drunk before but he also had never just hooked up with a girl randomly. Usually when it came to relationships, Liam took it very slow or well, not at all. But now he was macking on some girl that Niall wasn't even aware that he was interested in.

Danielle turned around swiftly seeing that they had a visitor and Liam peeked around her as well. They both were looking wide-eyed at Niall and the blond had never felt so disappointed or betrayed in his life. He knew it was ridiculous and that he was being possessive but he hated having to witness what he had just walked into. He felt sick to his stomach as well as incredibly out of place.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I'll just go…" Niall muttered, turning quickly and running away. He was embarrassed as hell; not only for interrupting but also because of the way he was feeling as well.

"That was weird.." Danielle stated before moving in to resume their make out session.

"Sorry, Danielle, I uh… I think I need to go find him." Liam apologized. "He looked really upset and I think I'm the reason. Just… pretend this never happened."

She gave him an incredulous look and objected, "Are you kidding me, Liam?"

Liam ignored Danielle and instinctively moved out from under her. He had to find Niall and figure out what the hell was going on between them. The alcohol had obviously been a mistake considering how out of control things were already getting….

"You've got… a lot of friends." Zayn muttered, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people surrounding them.

Harry chuckled. "You getting a little claustrophobic, Ian?"

Zayn shrugged, trying to seem as calm as possible but he couldn't help but feel a bit out of place.

"That suit looks great on you, by the way." Harry complimented and Zayn's breath hitched at the comment.

"You look good too… well, you always look good so I guess it's not much of a change." Zayn stammered, his cheeks growing hot as Harry smirked at him.

"Thanks." Harry said. "Why don't we get us some drinks and get away from the crowd?"

'The tree house?" Zayn suggested, loving their secret hideaway (that probably wasn't that much of a secret).

"Exactly what I was thinking." Harry agreed, grabbing Zayn by the hand and maneuvering them through the crowd.

Harry swept by the bar, grabbing a handful of drinks and nodding for Zayn to do the same, which he did. They bounded up the stairs and quickly shimmied their way up the ladder and into the sanctuary of the tree house.

"You know, I'm so glad that you moved here… whatever the reason may have been. I've always been sort of on my own in my group of friends; Liam has Niall and Louis has well, Louis has Louis, I've always felt a bit different than all of them. But then you came along and I don't feel so alone anymore. I never feel like I have to try with you, I can just be myself." Harry shared before taking a swig of his drink back.

Zayn smiled, delighted to hear that Harry felt the exact same way as he did. There was something just so natural about their friendship, Zayn felt like he belonged. He could trust Harry with anything, even his secret.

"I agree." Zayn murmured. "I trust you and that's why I have to tell you something…"

"Oh?" Harry wondered, his eyes full of worry.

But before Zayn could even open his mouth to tell Harry who he really was, somebody was screaming Harry's name at the top of their lungs. There was clunking of scrambling feet up the stairs and Harry flung the door open.

At the bottom of the ladder was a terrified looking Gemma.

"The police are here." She expressed urgently.

"Oh shit." Harry muttered, his eyes widening with panic.

_Oh shit is right, _Zayn thought, _what the hell are the police doing here?_


	8. Chapter 8

"Maybe… you should just stay up here?" Harry suggested to Zayn as Gemma continued to give her brother a look of sheer panic.

"No, I mean… maybe… but, what's wrong?" Zayn wondered, trying to interpret the urgency between the two Styles siblings.

Zayn didn't want Leeman to be right about Harry being like his father but clearly something serious was going on. But Zayn was comforted by the fact that there wasn't an instinctive feeling of something being wrong like it had been when Tanner and he had gotten into the warehouse 'situation'.

"I'll be right back." Harry said before turning around and making his way down the ladder. "I promise."

There was one thing that Zayn hated more than not being able to trust someone, it was being left behind. Tanner had done it to him and now Harry was doing the exact same thing. He didn't want to lose Harry as well…

As Harry disappeared down the stairs with his sister, Zayn bit his lip and hesitated. He wanted to do as Harry had asked him and simply wait but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"_Bloody Hell…" _Zayn muttered under his breath, letting his accent come out in his voice for once.

He quickly moved to the ladder and in a hurry made his way down it. The party was still in full kilt but there was something different about it; in the middle of crowd a circle had formed where people seemed to be engaging in a fight. The most bizarre part of it was that people were raising money in the air.

Zayn didn't understand what was going on until a very rough edged looking bloke walked into the middle and announced: "Bets should be made now or forever hold your peace."

The crowd went into hysteria as what looked like his lackeys walked around and collected 'bets'. Zayn looked around and finally saw Harry in an intense conversation with Louis who had a phone in his hand.

Harry turned suddenly toward the group, fury in his eyes as he made his way toward the circle. Gemma tried to hold him back but there was no way that she was going to stop her determined looking brother. Zayn made it halfway down the stairs as Harry burst into the circle.

"Who do you think you are to come here Luke?" Harry snarled, his brow furrowing with an intensity that Zayn was shocked by.

He had never seen Harry so enraged for he had only seen the curly haired bloke's softer, jokey and friendly side. There was something about this new facet of Harry that Zayn found embarrassingly sexy and intriguing. Maybe it was because Harry looked so _dangerous._

"What is wrong with me?" Zayn chastised of his mind before focusing on interpreting what was going on in front of him.

"Who are you to question me being here?" Luke responded with a smirk on his face. "This is a party and this is my business, that's just how it works, so deal with it, pretty boy."

This only made Harry even angrier. "This is my house and you when you're in my house, you'll respect my rules. This can go one of two ways: you can leave now and there we'll just forget this little incident or if you're stupid enough to stick around, there's a group of cops at the top of the driveway just waiting to arrest you and your deadbeat friends."

"This isn't your house." Luke sneered and the rest of his group joined in by laughing. "This is your daddy's house and last time I checked, he didn't mind messing with the law a bit. I'm sure he'd fully support our presence here, we're bringing in money!"

Harry narrowed his eyes and turned toward Louis, giving him a signal. Zayn could see that Louis was doing as he was told by dialing a three-digit number into the phone and lifting it to its ear.

"You need to leave." Harry growled. "Now."

"What are you going to do, Daddy's boy?" Luke openly mocked, collecting support from his lackeys.

Zayn watched, anxiously wanting to jump in and help Harry out but he knew that Leeman would kill him for getting involved with anything crime related. His new identity just wasn't worth compromising. He hated that he couldn't just be valiant Zayn instead of being frozen to spot as passive Ian Daniels.

Harry was tired of being patient with Luke. They had gone to high school together and Luke had always been nothing but trouble, getting involved with gangs and drug dealing from a young age. Harry had very little patience for the hoodlum and maybe it was the alcohol that made him do it, but he quickly clocked Luke square in the nose.

"Ow, fuck!" Harry yowled, holding his own fist because of the pain of the contact.

Zayn couldn't help but chuckle but quickly wished he never had when he saw Luke looking at Harry with the fury of one thousand fires. He had seen that look before in the drug dealer's eyes before he shot Tanner.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Luke cried, pulling out a switchblade and snapping it open.

The crowd quickly backed up at the sight of the weapon. You see, that's the thing about people; watching violence is intoxicating when you're in the safety of your home or as a bystander but as soon as there's an actual threat, they recoil with instant fear and disgust. Violence in the media is glorified but when faced with it in real life, very few people actually know how to deal with it.

"The police will be here any second, Luke, you don't want to do this." Harry advised of the weapon wielder. Harry now saw just how serious the situation really was and regretted engaging in a fight in the first place.

"Now you're playing with fire, pretty boy." Luke said, his nose bleeding and his brow furrowed. "How does it feel?"

Zayn saw the knife and his heart sunk. History was repeating itself but this time he wasn't going to simply stand and watch it…

Liam finally caught up to Niall just as he tried to duck into his own room. He grabbed the blond by the arm and turned him to face him.

Niall could smell the alcohol on Liam's breath and he wished he could do anything to escape the moment. He wanted to pass off the entire evening and what he had seen his best friend doing as a dream. It had never happened and they would never have to actually talk about it or the reaction that he had had. But, unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen and Liam was now right in front of him, eyes full of questions.

"Niall, I'm sorry." Liam murmured, not really knowing what he was actually apologizing before but he just wanted everything to be better.

He hated seeing Niall in pain, especially when he had caused it. Niall was always there for him when he was going through something and now seeing Niall in turmoil was completely heartbreaking to Liam.

"No. Don't be." Niall stammered, utterly embarrassed by the tear tracks on his face. "You did nothing wrong and I'm just being ridiculous. Go back to Danielle."

Liam had known Niall almost their entire life and he could tell when his friend was putting up a façade. Niall obviously wanted to avoid any further confrontation but Liam wasn't going to let his friend continue to suffer at his expense.

"What's going on, Nialler?" Liam inquired, sobering because of the seriousness of the conversation.

"Please just go back to Danielle." Niall demanded, feeling a wave of emotion come over him again. He didn't want Liam to see him like this, so broken because of his ignorant actions.

"I don't want to." Liam objected seeing the hurt in Niall's blue eyes. "I want to be here for you, the way that you are for me. Look, you don't have to explain what went on back there, I just want to let you know that I don't care about Danielle the way that I care about you. When I saw that I had put you in pain, I wanted nothing more than to find you and make it better."

Niall didn't want to read too much into Liam was saying, considering it was probably all due to his inebriation but it warmed his heart to know that Liam cared almost as much as he did, even if it was only in a platonic way.

"I just don't want to ruin your night." Niall mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"You could never do that." Liam assured his best friend before yawning widely. He hadn't even realized how tired he was until he got away from the party atmosphere. "Mind if I crash in your room?"

"Not at all." Niall answered, opening the door and Liam launched himself onto the bed, much to the blond's amusement. "I'll just go sleep on the couch then. Sweet dreams, Li."

Niall turned to walk out of the room but was stopped by Liam's whining. "Nialler, I need a cuddle buddy, my stomach hurts."

The blond stifled a laugh and turned back toward Liam. "Your stomach probably hurts because of the obscene about of alcohol that you consumed this evening. Your body's obviously not used to it."

"Please?" Liam persisted, pouting adorably.

"All right, fine…" Niall sighed and rolled his eyes as if it were a burden to cuddle with Liam. He climbed into the bed and Liam immediately wrapped his arms around the blond, resting his head on Niall's shoulder.

"Good night, Nialler." Liam mumbled before his eyes fluttered shut.

Niall couldn't believe how much the evening had turned around. Niall pressed his lips to the top of Liam's head as he slumbered away.

Liam was where he belonged, in Niall's arms and in his protection.

Zayn pushed through the crowd and went up behind Luke, finally putting his self defense classes (enforced by being a part of the witness protection program) to good use. He twisted the hoodlum's arm behind his back ambush style and grabbed the switch blade with his free hand, holding it to Luke's neck as a warning.

"Don't move an inch if you don't want to get cut." Zayn threatened as Luke struggled in his grasp.

Harry's eyes widened with surprise and relief. "Ian? You're such a bad ass!"

Zayn chuckled and shrugged. "I dabble in badassery."

Seconds later, cops flooded into the front door and searched out Luke and his associates. Zayn pushed Luke right into the welcoming arms of an officer who smiled gratefully for the present of the criminal.

"Don't think you'll pay for this, Styles." Luke barked as he was dragged away from the premises.

"Party's over everyone!" Harry called out as Louis turned off the music.

People groaned but obeyed considering that there was still police on the property. Slowly but surely Harry's house emptied and even Gemma made her way out, wiggling her dainty fingers at her brother, "Great rager, little bro!"

"See yah, Gem." Harry greeted as his sister walked out the front door.

Louis began to collect empties as everyone shuffled out. He looked like a zombie that had survived a partying apocalypse. It made both Harry and Zayn laugh.

"Lou, buddy, go to bed." Harry instructed and Louis did as he was told. "We can do that all in the morning."

All of a sudden, Harry and Zayn found themselves alone again which is they way they both preferred it.

"That was kind of awesome, what you did back there." Harry complimented, beaming at Zayn. "Was that what you were going to tell me? That you're a ninja?"

Zayn chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, but that can wait for another time. It was kind of fun to actually put the training to use, I'm not going to lie."

"Well, thanks, Ian." Harry said genuinely. "I mean, for all I know he could've tried to stab me. I owe you big time."

"You don't at all." Zayn objected. "I mean, if you're in trouble I'm going to help you. I don't think I'd be able to bear the thought of you getting hurt while I was around."

Harry cocked his to the side, intrigued by Zayn's comment. "It's like I have my own personal guardian angel or something."

Zayn looked down at the ground, embarrassed by what he had said. "Something like that…"

There was something about Zayn that made Harry want to know every last detail about him, he never ceased to surprise him like a book that had something new to read every time you opened it to read.

Zayn's phone buzzed and he knew without even looking that it was Leeman telling him to come outside because he was picking him up. Zayn sighed and accepted the reality of the rules.

"Your carriage calls, Cinderella?" Harry teased, gesturing toward the front door.

"Don't worry, I'll leave behind a glass slipper so you can find me again." Zayn retorted playfully, winking back at Harry.

Harry suddenly collected Zayn up in a tight embrace and Zayn could feel Harry's hot breath on his neck which made his mind dance with quite suggestive thoughts so he pulled away quickly to ensure nothing embarrassing happened.

"Um, well, thank for having me over." Zayn muttered, rushing out the door and leaving a very confused Harry behind.

Harry was not only confused because of Zayn's reaction but he was also confused because of his own. Clearly there was something beyond friendship going on between them but he couldn't tell if Zayn wanted it as well or if he was uncomfortable about it. Harry had never had feelings for another guy before, but Zayn was different. Zayn was the exception.

The thought didn't scare Harry at all, in fact, it simply made him want to see Zayn even more.


	9. Chapter 9

Work can only sustain one's interest for so long, especially when you work in an art store where people rarely frequent. It had been a few weeks since the party that the cops broke up and not much had happened since. Zayn was living a simple life with a great group of friends, a job just engaging enough to keep him awake and a new identity.

Today, Zayn was especially exhausted because the previous evening he had gone to a marathon of Bond movies with Harry at the local drive-in. He had never been to one in his entire life and the only thing he had to compare to it was the scene from Grease where Danny tries to cop a feel of Sandy's breast. Needless to say when he was alone in Harry's car with the bloke he had a crush on with this thought in mind, he really had to keep his hands to himself.

He rested his head down onto the counter of the register, wishing that either a customer would come in or maybe one of his friends would pop by to give him some amusement. When neither came, he felt his eyes began to flutter shut as he fell asleep.

_All he could associate was fear. He was trapped in an endless darkness with nowhere to escape to but that tortuous moment that changed his life forever. He couldn't ignore it any longer and finally opened himself to re-living the memory once again._

_Tanner lay before him, a vacancy in his eyes that made Zayn sick to his stomach. Regret filled him as he looked down at his fallen friend but as he neared something changed about Tanner. He no longer had the side-swept hair that he had always sported, instead he had curly hair and the blank brown eyes that he had gotten used to were now shockingly green._

_Zayn's breath hitched as Harry was on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, clearly long gone from this earth. Zayn felt shattered as he backed away slowly from the horrid scene, falling to the ground himself and backing into a corner._

_Harry was dead and there was nothing that Zayn could do about it. He plummeted further into the darkness as regret and guilt began to rein his every thought. _

Zayn was pulled out of the shocking nightmare by somebody's hands coming down on his shoulders.

"Ian? Ian?" A voice asked as Zayn's eyes shot open, freed from the macabre situation he had been forced to endure.

Zayn looked up and saw Harry staring across the counter, concern in his eyes. For a moment Zayn couldn't put the words together because he was just so relieved to see that pair of Emerald eyes looking so alive.

"I-I'm fine, just fell asleep on the job, I guess." Zayn murmured, still shaken by what he had been forced witness by his subconscious.

"You were crying and shaking a lot." Harry said and only then did Zayn notice the tears that had clearly fallen down his face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Zayn didn't want to stress Harry out at all so he simply shrugged and answered, "Just peachy, sometimes my imagination likes to torture the hell out of me though. But that comes with the territory of being an artist."

"Well, you still seem like you need some cheering up. When is Nialler coming to relieve you from your duty?" Harry asked after chuckling because of Zayn's comment.

Zayn looked down at his watch before responding. "Whoa, time goes by when you're sleeping instead of working. I must've closed my eyes for a good half an hour which means I only have a little over an hour before he gets here."

"After your shift ends, come to my workplace and we'll fix you something up to make sure you have a cuddle buddy if you have another nightmare like that." Harry said, winking at Zayn.

As much as Zayn simply wanted to invite Harry to be his permanent cuddle buddy, he decided that it would probably not be quite what Harry had in mind. What Harry was actually inviting him to do was make a teddy bear.

"Sounds good to me." Zayn expressed before he got a nod of confirmation from Harry.

"See you in a bit then." Harry greeted before exiting the store.

As much as Zayn wanted to appreciate the invitation, he still wasn't quite over the shock that the nightmare had put him through. All he knew was that he wouldn't be falling asleep on the job again (at least not during this shift).

Niall and Liam hadn't spoken much about what had gone on between them the night of the party but since then Liam had paid more attention to what his actions put Niall through. He wasn't just wallowing because he thought nobody cared anymore; he was consciously looking at things in a more positive light by Niall's inspiration.

They were out for lunch when one of Liam's older brother's friends came over to the table.

"Liam? Liam Payne?" The guy inquired and Liam recognized him immediately as one of the blokes who had been there the night that his older brother had drowned.

The atmosphere immediately darkened, as did Liam's expression. Niall gave him an 'are you ok' look and while he had to clench his fists to keep things together, he nodded assuredly at the blond.

"Yah, uh…. Tim, right?" Liam asked politely, his voice wavering slightly but he managed to keep his emotions under wraps. He made sure to sound a little unsure when he knew exactly who the guy was.

"Tom." The guy corrected but quickly shrugged it off. "Man, Liam, you grew up fast. It's shocking how much you actually look like him."

Niall bit his lip as Liam's eyes clouded over with the mention of his brother. The blond watched as his friend thought about how to respond to the insensitive friend of his perished brother.

"I get that a lot. I'm sorry to sound blunt but I'm having lunch with my friend and I don't exactly want that to be disturbed by a reminder of the mistake my brother made that haunts me basically every day." Liam stated. "I'm sorry."

Tom nodded in complete understanding. "Don't worry, I totally get what you're talking about. What happened was disturbing and the regret is torturous, I'm just glad to see that you're doing okay. And okay is better than letting the past determine your every day life."

"Thanks, Tom. I'll see you around." Liam murmured before Tom walked away from the table.

Niall beamed at Liam, proud of the way that Liam had handled the situation. It meant that his friend was finally beginning to heal and he was doing so consciously.

"That was amazing." Niall noted, reaching a hand across to Liam to squeeze his palm briefly.

"He's right though, I need to stop living in the past. I'm here, with you, and that's all that matters." Liam responded, appreciating the supportive contact that Niall was making with him.

Niall chuckled. "It's only lunch… I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a good lunch, but…"

"No, I don't mean this exact moment, Niall. I mean I see how much it hurts you when I'm in pain but I put myself through that because I don't want to lose the memory of my brother. But I realized that by letting my every thought be controlled by that goal, I'm not even living in the present and that's not fair to you or anyone else around me." Liam explained and Niall nodded understandingly.

"Liam… that's, well, I think that's great." Niall concluded, overwhelmed by the happiness that filled him by seeing Liam make such a conscious effort to combat his demons.

"I'm not just doing it for me though, I'm doing it for you too." Liam shared which made Niall's heart soar with an unjust amount of excitement. He felt like a little boy in a candy shop, knowing exactly what he wanted but a bit too ashamed to ask for it.

He didn't know how to respond without showing what he was really thinking so he simply muttered, "Cool" before continuing on shoveling food into his face. The sight made Liam laugh and the tension of the moment, to Niall's relief, was put to an end.

They were just two friends out for lunch and even though they might want more, neither of them wanted to be selfish and ruin their moment of peace.

"I'm sorry that I'm late!" Niall blurted as he ran through the front door of the art supplies shop. "I was having lunch with Liam and I totally got distracted by how delicious it was and lost track of time. Please don't hate me."

Zayn laughed at his spastic blond friend before answering, "Calm down, man. I'm in no rush so you don't have to be either. I'm sure the food was worth it anyway. How's Liam doing?"

Niall calmed himself down at the mention of Liam's name. "He's, uh, doing much better actually. Since the party he's sort of remade his outlook on life; I haven't seen him this way since we were kids, more alive and in the moment and such."

"Seems like you feed off of that, Mr. Bubbly." Zayn teased as he walked out from behind the counter, picking up his bag.

"I do, actually and I'm damn well proud of it." Niall rebutted playfully and slipped behind the counter so Zayn could finally get the hell out of his immensely boring workplace.

"Good, well, I'll catch yah around, okay?" Zayn greeted before heading out toward the Build-a-bear that Harry worked at.

Zayn walked through the crowds of mall frequenters and finally came to the store that looked like a toy store on crack. There were screaming children as well as stressed out looking mothers and fathers trailing behind their tantruming tots but the thing that really caught Zayn's eye was how calm Harry was in the middle of the chaos that surrounded him.

"Hey, welcome to hell." Harry murmured, a smile plastered on his face.

Zayn chuckled as he followed Harry through the store to the back where you could pick out what animal you would stuff and then cruelly dress up for your own amusement. Thank goodness they were at least inanimate.

"Now, what catches your eye, Mr. Daniels?" Harry inquired as Zayn's eyes trailed over the array of animals that he could choose from.

If it was this overwhelming of a choice for a grown man, he couldn't imagine what he would be like for a kid. But, he finally settled on a little sheep with a crooked smile.

"I shall call him Squishy and he will be my Squishy."

"Finding Nemo, nice touch." Harry noted with an amused smile as he took the unstuffed sheep from Zayn's grasp.

He brought it over to the machine and quickly stuffed it before saying, "Well, now you have to put it a heart in it but before we do that, you have to kiss and make a wish."

Zayn took the little cloth heart from Harry's grasp and had to think hard about his wish. He contemplated a few options about changing his past but then realized that if Tanner's death hadn't happened, he would never have met Harry. As selfish as the thought was, it made Zayn realize that he should wish for something in the future instead.

_I wish that Harry could see and know the real me. Not Ian Daniels anymore, just Zayn Malik._

He made the wish, kissed it and passed it off to Harry who tenderly put it in the stuffie before lacing it up and handing it back to Zayn.

"I hope you used your wish well." Harry said, a little half-smile gracing his adorable face.

"I hope so too." Zayn murmured, clutching onto his little sheep stuffie and staring into Harry's gorgeous green eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Zayn was having a British day. Sometimes he really couldn't help it and wanted to indulge in everything that was his homeland. He had already watch two episodes of Sherlock, played with his Sonic Screwdriver and drank enough tea to make him want to barf. But mostly he was talking to Leeman more than usual (which drove the agent crazy) in his normal accent.

"What's going down, Leeman?" Zayn wondered, cuddling with the lamb stuffie that he had made with Harry the other day.

Leeman sighed and put down his government phone. "What do you want, Zayn?"

Zayn wanted lots of things. He wanted to be able to go to school, he wanted to be honest with all his new friends about who he was, he wanted to see his family again, he wanted Tanner not to be dead and he wanted Harry, in every capacity. But unfortunately he wasn't going to get any of those things.

"I miss being able to just… be me." Zayn shared. "It's driving me utterly bonkers. I wish I could just have one last day as Zayn, y'know?"

Leeman pitied Zayn but knew he had to keep his professionalism in place instead of indulging in his emotional attachment to the young man he had sworn to protect. He had seen it go wrong so many times before, people step out of the shadows for even a moment and then the enemy finds them. And then he's simply assigned a new subject as if nothing had ever happened.

"Isn't it enough to talk like you don't care if people can understand you or not? And your painting must help as well." Leeman offered as a consolation prize for Zayn.

Zayn took offense to the agent's comment. "People can understand me just fine when I talk like this, thank you very much. Maybe I can call my family to show you that?"

"We can't risk that. I'm sorry." The agent responded, picking up the phone again to put an end to the conversation. "You have to learn to live as Ian, no matter how much it hurts."

He didn't want to inspire even the possibility of Zayn being able to reach out to his family or come out of hiding at all because you can't kill an idea when it begins. It is better to be harsh and cut if off before it gets out of control and costs someone their life.

Frustrated, Zayn got to his feet and stalked back to his painting room. He wasn't going to let himself go down the road where he shut himself away again but he still wanted an outlet for the array of emotions he was trying to put at bay.

He threw a canvas on the stand and put himself to work.

An hour and a half later, Zayn was covered almost head to toe in different colors of paint. He only got pulled out of his creative mind by the sound of his cell phone trilling in his pocket. He recognized the personalized ring as Harry's and his heart began to race.

"Hey, Ian. What's up?"

It stung to hear Harry call him his new name but Zayn didn't dwell long on that because he was so comforted by even the sound of Harry's voice. He suddenly felt extremely exhausted by all the work he had done with painting but only now realized it.

"Not much actually, just doing some painting. I'm just the usual boring Ian Daniels."

"Oh, really? Can I invite myself over then?"

"Huh, what?"

"You promised the first that we met that once you started painting again, I could see them and you have yet to keep that promise. So, I'm going to force you to keep it by inviting myself over."

Zayn laughed at how forward Harry was being about it but simply accepted it. He wanted to see Harry anyway. "Fine, I'll see you soon then."

"Perfect and Ian…?"

"Hmmm?"

"Have you been watching too much BBC news or something?"

Zayn heart dropped as he wondered what exactly Harry meant by that. He then realized that since he had been talking with one all day that his British accent must've been showing too much in his words.

"Nope, probably just a warped connection, like it's auto tuning me or something."

"Weird…. Ok, see you in a few!"

Zayn was relieved that Harry hadn't dwelled upon the change in his voice for long but soon panicked when he realized that there were some very dark painting amongst his collection that would probably also raise some questions from his curly haired friend. He would have to find those ones a good hiding spot or Leeman might just totally lose it.

"LIAM! GET YOUR WHITE ASS IN THE WATER!" Louis demanded, his head bobbing just above the surface as Niall dangled his feet off of the dock.

Liam had a strict no dock and no water policy because of his brother's accident; even showers had been a struggle for a while. Anything that reminded him of that awful night was something he just wanted to avoid.

Whenever his friends messed around in the water of the lake, Liam tended to stay far away but today he sat down on the beach, watching at the water lapped at his toes. He ignored Louis and turned back to the book he had been reading.

Niall glared down at Louis. "Don't Lou, you know he doesn't like the water."

"Oh, damn… now I feel like a dick." Louis said, realizing how idiotic the demand was. "His brother, right?"

Niall only nodded as Louis climbed up onto the dock and out of the water.

"I'm going to go grab a drink. Want anything?" Louis inquired.

"No, I'm fine, thanks." Niall responded and Louis continued on to their shared abode to fetch himself a refreshment.

Niall turned back toward Liam and smiled at how at peace his friend looked. It was a feat that Liam was even that close to the water; it made Niall realize that Liam was finally getting better.

The blond was so concentrated on admiring the change in Liam that he didn't notice the wave from a boat (driving too close to the shoreline) crashing down toward him. It hit suddenly and Niall was helplessly collected up in its grasp.

He was swept away among the unexpected current and tumbled uncontrollably. As much as he tried, he simply couldn't find his way back up to the surface. As he struggled, he didn't see the post of the dock before he hit in head on. Everything became black and the last thing he thought about was how much he would miss Liam.

Liam looked up from his book, as the beach was flooded with a surge of water. He immediately jumped to his feet and turned his attention toward the dock where moments ago Niall had been sitting. Only he wasn't there any longer.

"No… no, this can't be happening." Liam murmured, frozen to the spot as history repeated itself in front of his eyes.

The difference was that it was daytime and now Liam could swim. He tore himself away from the fear that rooted him to the spot and jumped into action. He sprinted down the dock and dove into the open water.

As soon as he got below the surface he spotted Niall, floating unconsciously below him. Liam pushed himself through the water and wrapped his arms around Niall's waist, towing his friend back up to the dock.

By this time, Louis had made his way back outside and spotted the situation going down on the dock.

"CALL 911!" Liam ordered, his voice fueled by urgency and outrage that fate had once again betrayed him.

Louis rushed into the house as Liam began to perform CPR on Niall. Liam had done extensive research and training for this type of situation after his brother had passed. The macabre fact was that he actually had to use it.

He pushed down on Niall's chest, praying that Niall would breathe again. When that clearly wasn't working, Liam knew what he had to do. He hesitated before lowering his lips towards Niall's, preparing himself for the contact. He opened Niall's mouth and passed the breath from his own lungs to the blond.

Liam continued alternating between pushing on Niall's chest and the shared breath for what felt like forever when it probably had only been a few seconds. He almost gave up, withdrawing from his friend but he went in for one last breath and suddenly instead of sharing breath, they were kissing.

Niall woke from his state of unconsciousness and instantly fell into the comfort of Liam's lips. It was more of a relieved reaction but neither of them wanted to stop, out of fear that losing the contact would mean they would lose each other again.

"Uh…. Guys?" Louis interjected, holding the phone away from his ears up on the porch.

Niall and Liam separated quickly and Liam blurted, "CPR did the trick. He'll be fine."

Niall collapsed down on the ground as Louis let out a sigh of relief on his own. He didn't want to question what he had seen because he was fine without knowing his friend's personal business. He understood boundaries like that.

He turned to go back into the house as Liam settled down onto his back next to Niall, both of them staring up at the sky.

"I'm so sorry." Niall murmured after a while.

Liam's eyes went wide with surprise as he turned toward Niall. "It's not your fault, Nialler. Don't think that way."

"Okay…" Niall muttered before Liam absentmindedly slipped his own hand into the blonds'.

_Whatever was going on between them was left unanswered for now but that was just fine. As long as they had one another, everything was going to be fine._

"So is that, like, you soul or something?" Harry teased, because he never could quite take anything seriously.

Harry and Zayn were in Zayn's painting room (much to Leeman's dismay and objection because he still didn't seem to trust Harry). Zayn had disposed of most of his darker painting and left the ones that he thought were presentable enough for Harry to see. He clung onto a mug of piping tea for the simple British comfort of it.

"Or something like that." Zayn retorted. "It's one of my more abstract paintings. Sometimes I don't feel like reflecting reality anymore and I just sort of paint what I see when I close my eyes."

"You know, I still haven't gotten around to painting anything." Harry admitted, feeling a little bit guilty about that fact.

"You should try it sometime. Your tree house has the perfect view of the lake, start there?" Zayn suggested.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe you should come over and use my supplies instead, I'll probably just make a mess of it anyway. Plus, you're kind of amazing at this."

"No, it's just a hobby." Zayn deflected, trying desperately to hide his blush.

"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit." Harry noted, turning away from the painting and back to Zayn. His green eyes sparkled with intention as he beamed at the artist that he admired so much. "Why not be loud and proud of the fact that you're talented? I would be if I was as good as you are."

"I don't know, I guess I just can't put myself out there like you can. I don't have the confidence." Zayn responded halfheartedly. He was somewhat embarrassed by his lack of ambition when Harry seemed so supportive of it.

"Then learn from the best." Harry joked, referring to himself.

Zayn bit his lip with slight envy. "I don't get how you do it, Haz. Do you never doubt yourself?"

"Only when it comes to you." Harry answered, putting himself out there for once.

This confused Zayn but also made something nervous stir inside of him. "What do you mean by that?"

Harry shrugged. "When I'm around you, I think too much because I care about how you see me. I never care what people think. I consciously make an effort to ensure that you're happy because when you smile, I don't know… it makes me happy. I guess it's a bit selfish but… I just care a lot about you, Ian."

The name stung again but Zayn didn't have time to dwell on it because Leeman quickly burst into the room, a worried look in his eyes. "Ian, I need to talk to you. It's important."

Harry gave Zayn a look of concern but Zayn knew if he didn't ignore it, he'd want to stay and disregard everything Leeman wanted. So, he didn't even dare to look at the curly haired bloke before he followed the agent out into the hallway.

"He's back, Zayn." The agent murmured to ensure Harry couldn't hear. "Tanner's killer is back."

_And just when Zayn had a reason to want to be Ian, he was forced back into being Zayn. He was forced to be scared again and to remember the macabre murder of his best friend whose killer had resurfaced after disappearing for almost a year…_


End file.
